From A Big Four Firm to Entrepreneurship
In this special episode of The Accountant’s Flight Plan, Brannon sat down with Raffi Yousefian, a NY/DC-based CPA and entrepreneur, to discuss his journey to building a thriving tax practice. Raffi began his career at EY before launching his own firm in 2016, growing rapidly before making the bold decision in 2022 to niche down into three verticals. By 2023, he doubled down on his fastest-growing and most rewarding segment: restaurants. He dedicated his brand to that niche and sold off the rest with the help of Poe Group Advisors.

Timestamps:
00:37 – Intro of Raffi Yousefian his background from EY to launching his own firm and finding his niche

04:00 – Why Raffi left public accounting to become an entrepreneur

06:50 – Doing less to grow more: The power of niching

11:45 – Selling off part of a firm: Risk vs. reward

15:20 – Why focus builds deeper expertise and stronger advisory

20:00 – Benchmarks, AI adoption, and automation in accounting

27:33 – DJ life during tax season: A funny story

31:48 – Book recommendation: Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore

33:00 – Connect with Raffi via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raffiyousefian/